What IS Mary Poppins? Discuss... — Page 2

I tried to start a discussion about this topic on a disney forum a year ago and the only response I got was "i don't know...can I say shes a good disney character?" so firstly, thanks for starting this topic/responding to it because what Mary Poppins 'is' is somthing thats fun to ponder every now and then. Wikipedia said some people think shes an alien. My theory was/is that shes part of a co-existing magical community similar to the one portrayed in Harry Potter. In Harry Potter the muggles are able to see the Wizarding world (such as the Leaky Cauldron) butdon't pay attention unless someone directs their attention to it. I think its kinda the same with Mary- when the kids encounter her they come across a bunch of magicalish characters (ie- Uncle Albert, Mrs. Corey, etc...) who are portrayed as established people who have been around for a while. I take this to mean that Mary Poppins makes the children aware of this community in order to teach them, and thats moreorless my theory about what she is. So I guess....for lack of a better term I'm going to go for witch. I wish there was a better term. Kinda off topic, but wikipedia says that the Cheshire Cat is often interperted as the God of Wonderland...any thoughts on that? Not broadway I know, but still, fun to think about.

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Just a word of caution - Wikipedia is not always accurate so I would not treat it as gospel on any serious subject. As for the Chesire Cat, if you have read the book recently, what is it about the Cat that makes the God analogy work? I would love to hear YOUR ideas on the subject, too! (Not just some untried Wiki quote!)

I think that Mary Poppins has to have some magic in her obviously. With out it, she would not be able to do things such as pull huge things out of a seemingly endless amount of space in her carpet bag. (By the way I always wanted one of those when I was younger).

But to say that she has no magic at all is a silly idea, I think. The books were written for children. So, who's to say that no magic happened and that it is only through the eyes of the Banks children we see this magic? The magic is for everyone to see.

The author, used the magic Marry Poppins uses to teach children valuable, moral lessons. But even though the magic is used for a purpose, it is still magic.

So to sum up: Mary is a magical being but also has a higher purpose in using her magic. That's my opinion. Sorry it got so long.